LIST OF URDU VOCABULARY USED 

aadat sey majboor

عادت سے مجبور

forced by habit, habitually doing and internally driven

sir ji

سر جی

dearest sir, out of respect

parhnay wala

پڑھنے والا

reader, one who reads

qaari 

قاری

reader whose distinctive office is to read prayers in a mosque, most often memorized

mutalea karnay wala

مطالعہ کرنے والا

one who reads manuscripts offered for publication and advises regarding their merit

raat 

رات

beautiful nostalgic twilight

suroor 

سرور

ultimate internal joy that feels close-to-the-chest 

mehmaan-i-khusoosi, jisey dawat dee jaye

مہمان خصوصی , جسے دعوت دی جائے

the invitee; special guest here to dine or stay with, most times invited, but often found arriving at the door unannounced, but always welcomed. 

dawat deney wala

 دعوت دینے والا

the inviter; One who, or that which, invites.

bawarchi; khana pakaney wala

باورچی; کھانا پکانے والا

the one cooking, the chef, the head cook of a large or small establishment, such as a club, a restaurant, or even a family.

Esey aur wesey 

اس طرح اور اس طرح

this and that, potato and potato, here and there

bohot jaldhi 

بہت جلد; جلدی; جلد ہی

very soon, an expression of supposedly faster time.

chaatna, chat hojana

چاٹنا; چٹ ہوجانا

to lick, to become licked; to have licked away; food finished having licked away entirely

Chutney; Achaar

چٹنی;اچار

a sort of pickled blended sauce to be used as a condiment, derived from the word chaatna (above) meaning to lick.

dastarkhwan

دسترخوان

long floor cloths used as a sort of floor seating, to eat on either side of

Elaichi darchini wali chai

الائچی دار چینی والی چائے

Cardamom Cinnamon Tea (Chai) - Tea made by simmering Water with Loose Black Tea or Black Tea Leaves (and sometimes Milk), with some spices of choice in this case Cardamom and Cinnamon. Personally, I like to also add Cloves in the winter and finish it up with some gurr (jaggery) for a creamy caramelized finish.  

dupehar ka khana 

دوپہر کا کھانا

some heavy and gratifiying lunch

kaeloola 

کیلولا

afternoon nap, especially in the summer to escape the heat outside

bhindi sabzi

ھنڈی سبزی

Simple vegetable dry curry made with okra, spices, onion and tomatoes.

(Fun fact, dear reader, since you've come this far and seem to be interested and invested - Sabzi comes from sabz, meaning green. Hence Sabzi is Vegetable, and sabza is greenery, all in Urdu.)

(PS - Bhindi Sabzi is another monumental recipe of mine that, if you insist, dear reader, and invite me to, i shall perhaps cover in my next exposition.)

zeera waaley chaawal

زیرے والے چاول

cumin infused steamed rice

podeena raita

پودینہ رائتہ

yoghurt whipped up with mint and a pinch of salt. Personally, I also like to add some crushed garlic, a pinch of jaggery, mint leaves as well as dried powdered mint.

Muhajirs

مہاجرین

migrants, especially in this case the ones who migrated from India to Pakistan, specifically reserved as a term for those living in the Sindh province of Pakistan as thats is where most of them migrated to, aka the capital of Sindh - Karachi. 

degh 

دیگ

massive cauldron used to cook large quantities of food, cauldron.

A sort of cultural identity. Every family in the subcontinent, big or small owns at least one - to cook large quantities of food when everyone gets together. Kind of like how my western brothers and sisters would most definitely have a barbeque grill on their terraces, balconies or backyards. 

Dekhiye

دیکِھیے 

Urging someone to see and understand

sheher

شہر

city; also used metaphorically to talk about a larger place

Mai Kolachi
کولاچیمائی 

Lady Karachi, Mother of Karachi

Dil bagh bagh hogaya

دِل باغ باغ ہوگیا

literally: my heart has become full of roses and gardens; to rejoice greatly; to be immensely delighted

jiddat

جدت

internal desire and knowledge to know how to innovate

talab 

طلب

desire, quest, hunger

teen dabbay wala

والاٹین ڈبہ

the one with/of tins and cans

a type of street hawker who can be found melodically announcing his presence as the teen dabbay walaaaa as he walks across neighbourhoods. His expertise? To sell, buy, recycle, and fix tins, cans, and boxes, mostly ones made of steel. 

raddi wala

رَدّی والا

the one who picks up rags/paper etc for recycling and/or repurposing/selling

a type of street hawker who can be found melodically announcing his presence as the raddi walaaaa as he walks across neighbourhoods. His expertise? To recycle your rags/paper for you, and/or repurpose/sell.

pressure cooker theek kawra lou wala   

پریشر کوکر ٹھیک کڑوا لو والا

the one who fixes your pressure cooker

a type of street hawker who can be found melodically announcing his presence with pressure cooker theek kawra lou as he walks across neighbourhoods. His expertise? To fix all your pressure cooker woes. He often can be seen carrying around spare parts for your cooker, and can magically install, connect, fix, stick, join, embed, fasten and whatever else you would like done for your pressure cooker and/or most other pots and pans.

seeti wala

سیٹی والا

the one who whistles, the whistler, the reminder

a type of street hawker who can be found whistling with an actual whistle as he rides past neighbourhoods on his bicycle. Yes, you got that right, he whistles. That's his job description. Why, you ask? Well, he can mostly appear in the month of Ramadan, and he rides past whistling on his bicycle waking up residents for Sehri (the time before dawn, to eat and drink and make an intention to commence your fast). He makes quite a few rounds and makes sure everyone is up and ready for Sehri. Mostly, these are the neighbourhood guards who also act as the seeti wala in Ramadan. It is also mostly, a self-designated job in most neighbourhoods, or a sort of understood job in others. 

pakora
پکوڑا

Vegetable fritters, or a kind of dumplings. 

A combination of deep-fried vegetables (mostly potatoes, but also zucchini, aubergine, onions, green chillies, mint and coriander leaves) in a thin batter of chickpea flour, with a pinch of salt and spices of choice.

(PS - when you come over, dear reader, we can have these with tea, or as light starters before the main course.)

karrak chai

کڑک چائے

strong, often spiced, black tea cooked with milk 

namak paraey

نمک پارے

Literally: salty or salted pieces, or even salty bites.

Namak paraey are essentially spiced and seasoned pastry dough, traditionally made of whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or a combination of both. This is then rolled out and cut into strips, diamonds or squares and deep-fried, air-fried or baked.

araey

ارے

an informal way of saying hey listen!, hey see!, hey!, or a signal of caution, care, attention.